U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks during a press conference at the TecMilenio University in Monterrey, Mexico, Thursday, March 26, 2009. Clinton is on a two-day official visit to Mexico. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini)

How it escaped Washington's notice is no surprise. Nobody wants to admit that this country can't solve its bottomless urge for illegal drugs - or that this appetite causes murder and mayhem in other countries.

That's why Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's remarks on the Mexican drug war have drawn gasps. She spoke the obvious, hard truth when it comes to Mexico's bloody conflict, which has left 7,000 dead in the last 15 months.

This string of assassinations, beheadings and bombings is due to "our insatiable demand for illegal drugs," she said. Clinton hit another raw nerve: The killings also are linked to "our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled" across the border by criminals taking advantage of lax gun laws at U.S. border-town gun shops.

The United States is both creating and arming the drug gangs, whose deadly work is spreading northward across the border, she suggested. "How could anyone conclude differently?" she said. "I feel very strongly we have co-responsibility."

In the diplomatic world, where differences are finessed with sanded-down words like "frank" or "cordial," Clinton's remarks are blunt, unambiguous and entirely welcome.

She went on to indicate an even tougher challenge. Outside of legalization - which won't fly in present-day Washington - what approach makes sense in cutting drug use? For 30 years, dating back to the feckless "Just Say No" program headlined by Nancy Reagan, the United States has struggled to find an answer.

The best Clinton could do was hint at a change from the costly and unsuccessful interdiction program built on law enforcement crackdowns and seized shipments. The new policy, emphasized in several think-tank papers, is to work on the receiving end of the problem in the United States. That will likely mean a concerted drive in this country to educate users on drug dangers and programs to rehabilitate and counsel addicts. Deprive dealers of customers and drug supplies will diminish, the argument goes.

There's a second message in Clinton's words. Washington is ready for a new relationship with Mexico, one that swaps stereotypes for practical results.

Over the past months, Mexico was assailed as a "failed state," the ultimate diplomatic slap, because its corrupt government was overwhelmed by drug gangs.

This talk has infuriated Mexican leaders including President Felipe Calderon, who has deployed the army to maintain order and staked his career on the results.

By speaking up about American drug use, Clinton is acknowledging the scope of the problem and reconnecting with a neighbor, ally and major trading partner.